Plan To Restore, Expand Mall Hit By Fire Is Filed

AVON — Five months after a suspicious fire gutted the plaza, the owner of the Nod Brook Mall has applied for a 33,000-square-foot renovation and expansion.

Mall owner John Usdan wants to add a 12,852-square-foot building to the eastern side of the plaza. A proposed 20,020-square-foot retail store will replace one now standing at the east end of the mall. Most of the new spaces would be laid out where Avon Nursery used to stand. Usdan tore down the nursery after purchasing it.

The changes, if approved, would modernize the Route 44 strip, according to planning consultant Bruce Hoben. The mall dates from the early 1970s. It is currently 126,898 square feet, according to figures from the town assessor's office.

``You look at this mall and it looks like it was built 20 years ago,'' Hoben said.

Because it had not been remodeled, some employees of the mall's eight stores had complained, particularly at the time of the fire, that the mall was unable to remain competitive with neighboring stores. Most of Avon's malls have undergone facelifts in the last 10 to 15 years.

Although the refurbishing is slated for the area destroyed by the fire, Usdan said he has discussed renovating the entire mall with town officials for more than a year. The purchase of the nursery last year was one of the beginning steps toward renovations.

Town Planner Steve Kushner said the expansion blueprint calls for an additional access to West Main Street.

The expansion would disturb about a quarter of an acre of wetlands. Usdan has proposed creating a new flood plain behind the mall to replace one he plans to fill.

A row of trees that fronts the mall will remain, Hoben said.

The fire broke out May 5 in an abandoned station wagon behind the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant. Several stores on the east side of the mall and vacant office space were damaged. Most of the stores have reopened.

The state fire marshal's office concluded its investigation of the fire without determining a cause.